selvaraja somiah’s twisted thoughts

Me, just an ordinary Penangite who spent a good part of my learning life in North Borneo and Kathmandu. I’m a geologist turned freelance writer who’s joining the blog sphere now. What I post are my general views, my ramblings, and opinions of my thoughts of what is happening in my country. You are welcome to write your comments, but seditious and racial remarks will be deleted. I am no big writer but will try my best to provide my thoughts with my simple English. I welcome suggestions and opinions on my blog so that it can be improved further for the benefit of all.

Archive for August, 2010

Susan Loone’s Blog is one of my favorite sites. I visit her site all the time. Susan is a prolific writer and has a unique style and she can make an ordinary topic interesting just with her funky blend of words and she sure puts quality into every post. She certainly knows her stuff. I think her site is a major success simply because of her solid, useful, and thoughtful writing. A must for any blogger.

Today Susan blogged about Hishamuddin Rais’s new book “Tapai” and it was as usual well written an interesting. And more interesting to me was this video by Hishamuddin Rais: Negara Ciplak which I accidentally found while reading one of Susan’s commentators. See below…

The Federation of Malaya is 53 years old today and we have come a long way since independence.

Tunku Abdul Rahman, the prime minister-elect, who led the negotiations with the British for handover of power to the Malayans said in his speech on that day August 31st 1957, that, it was the greatest moment in the life of the Malayan people as a new star had risen in the eastern sky – a star of freedom for yet another Asian people.

Meanwhile the British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan who was representing the Queen during the handing over of power also on that day August 31st, said in his speech, that he hoped 31 August would long be remembered as a great and happy day in the continuing development of Malaya and the Commonwealth of Nations.

I take this opportunity to pay tribute to all my leaders and fellow Malayans, past and present, specially Tunku Abdul Rahman who made it possible for us all, to live in peace and harmony and prosperity until UMNO under Mahathir came along and actually split the nation with its version of their Independence struggles.

That’s why I’m not eager to celebrate Hari Merdeka. I’m fed up with UMNO’s ranting about its “independence struggles” year in and year out for the last 52 years claiming that UMNO had solely liberated the country “MALAYSIA” and the rest of the citizens were just “passengers” in this struggle.

In two days time it’ll be the 47th year of the “I have a Dream” speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. one of the most powerful and eloquent speeches of all time. In his speech, Martin Luther King, Jr. called for racial equality and an end to discrimination. King’s delivery of the speech on August 28, 1963, from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, was a defining moment of the American Civil Rights Movement. Delivered to over 200,000 civil rights supporters, this speech is often considered to be one of the greatest and most notable speeches in human history and was ranked the top American speech of the 20th century.

And remember it was also the year Barack Obama was born. How far America has travelled since then is truly amazing!

Our UMNO politicians should go learn a thing or two by just listening to this video instead of still harping on the “Ketuanan” crap. This is 2010 for your info!

Anwar why are you doing this to PKR Sabah again? Sometimes you just make me puke. Why now? Why now after 12 months you go after those 12 aligned to Dr Jeffrey for their so-called involvement in the botched effort to register Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS) ? Is it because of the PKR divisional elections next month? That’s bad. Datuk, for your info, at the rate it’s going, there is enormous discontent within the party base and PKR Sabah had to watch out that it does not lose its credibility. The ground is saying you want to get rid of all 12 because you know they will all win in their divisions and because they are align to Dr Jeffrey, its bad news for you, Azmin and all your other “butt kissers”. Sorry Datuk for the language, but, this is what the ground in Sabah is saying and I’m just the barometer.

The 12, Daniel John Jambun, Awang Ahmad Sah Awang Sahari, Mozes Iking, Guandee Kohoi, Sylvester Balon, Dr Nicholas Guntobon, Harry Manisit, Rubbin Guribah, Paul Kerangkas, Innocent Makajil, Gonsubin Yosundang and Nasir Sami are all good people. I know most of them and they are all committed to the PKR struggle although they look upon Dr Jeffrey very highly.

The timing is out Datuk. How come during this divisional elections you are taking action on them? After all, the PCS matter was considered solved last year. You had asked the 12 to withdrew the PCS application from the Registrar of Societies. Which they did based on your advice then. What more? And you had even agreed to Jeffrey’s demands as condition for him and Christina Liew to retract their resignations as vice president and supreme council member respectively. You even sent Tian Chua and Michael Bong to resolve the impasse and that was the end of it. It was settled. Then why this matter resurfaced again now?

Are you afraid Jeffrey and his group might throw their support to Zaid Ibrahim for the PKR deputy President’s post and your Azmin Ali might lose his pants? And are you doing this to save Azmin Ali’s back? Anyway, Zaid is difinitely more popular than Azmin Ali as far as Sabah and Sarawak is concern. And for Azmin Ali to win he must get votes from Sabah and Sarawak members and looks like Azmin Ali lost that support after his “great fumble” when he was handling PKR Sabah the last time.

Another 10 days more for Anwar Ibrahim to meet Saiful The Pondan, in person, in court, after Saiful The Pondan had lodged a police report last year on June 28, claiming that two days before the police report, Anwar, had sodomised him on various occasions, the last being at a condominium unit in Damansara. Saiful The pondan also claimed that he could not pass motion for a number of days after being sodomised.

Remember, back in 1998, Anwar Ibrahim was also first charged for sodomy for sodomising in 1994, Azizan Abu Bakar the driver of Kak Wan Azizah. For this, Anwar was sentenced to 15 years in prison for sodomy and for abusing his authority to cover up the deed. However the court overturned the sodomy conviction and freed him in 2004, after Mahathir had retired.

So what will happen to Anwar when he goes for trial this July 1st? Most likely, he may be denied bail and then sent to prison under remand. After that, there will be a quick conviction and found guilty and jailed for 20 years and whipped under section 377B of the Penal Code. This is a very possible scenario. If this is going to be the case, Anwar may die in prison after this.

So, can we trust our judges to be impartial and fair? I have my doubts like many other Malaysians.

I totally agree with many that our system has fallen pray to Umno power play and money. Consequently, many individuals and even lawyers wonder if they are ever going to get a fair trial here. Such a question should never enter someone’s mind when going to court. But its not the case here, sad to say. All judges should be fair and impartial, and when we start questioning whether our judges will be fair and impartial, democracy ceases to exist as we know it.

The only alternative for Anwar in this scenario is to go into exile from Malaysia. Maybe Anwar should look into this option. Anwar should know that even Daw Aung San Suu Kyi should have gone into exile long time ago in order to be more effective for Burma. By staying put in Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi was not able to meet and talk to the international community and hence could not urge more international pressure to be put on Burma like what Khomeini or Dalai Lama did.

What are you waiting for Datuk? This is a sincere request from a fellow Penangite. Don’t wait lah! Malaysians will be very depress if you go in for the next 20 years and there will not be any more SEMANGAT to fight. We want you outside so that the fire will be burning till there is a real regime change.”

” The problem with Anwar Ibrahim is that he is not empowering the PKR local chaps in Sabah. Why cant he get the Sabah boys to lead Sabahans? Why cannot? What is so wrong with Dr Jeffrey Kitingan to lead? Why so peninsular-centric even after 46 years of independence. Come on lah Anwar you can do better than this.

Appointing Azmin Ali to look after PKR Sabah is a real mistake.

This Azmin Ali fellow is suppose to organise and help facilitate for Anwar Ibrahim in Sabah, but he is not. He is trying to micro-manage PKR Sabah big time. Who is Azmin Ali a junior in politics, a greenhorn to Sabah politics compared with Dr Jeffrey Kitingan?

All the good people left PKR because of Azmin Ali’s stupid attitude and tendency of dominating and monopolising Anwar. See how he undermine Tan Sri Khalid in Selangor, even in Penang he try to undermine my goodfriend Dr Mansor the Deputy Chief Minister of Penang. Now Datuk Zaid Ibrahim seem destined to become yet another casualty.

Maybe Anwar and PKR should go and learn some management skills from Kit Siang and Karpal. See how the DAP does in Sabah and Sarawak. DAP does not put a West Malaysian guy to look after their operations in Sabah and Sarawak. Go learn from DAP and maybe this will help PKR run their operations in Sabah better.

I don’t know what is with this KL. It seems politicians both opposition and ruling seem to manifest how peninsula-centric they can be. Even the federal govt officers in Sabah are full of ego and superiority complex and some so BIG head, arrogant and living in a world of their own. How to promote national unity and integration like this eh? A Penangite, I have been in Sabah long to know of this kind of mentality and its even more disgusting when my kids both Sabahans tell it to me on my face.

Now Najib our PM talks in great deal about this 1Malaysia thingy, this sugar-coated slogan of his. For me, this 1Malaysia is an empty-shell slogan with no real substance and intentions. As long as we have corruption, injustice, discrimination, inequality and particularly the “Ketuanan Melayu”, no way we can achieve 1Malaysia. Can Najib do it? I doubt it but we shall see as time will tell. Maybe Najib should come stay in Sabah and Sarawak to learn about 1Malaysia which has been existing long before Malaysia was formed in 1963.

The issue is colonization in the 21st century. East Malaysia is getting the same treatment as East Timor under Indonesia, becoming a second class minority in their own country, with no history of being part of Malaya until Malaysia was formed.”

And today my friend Haris Ibrahim of People’s Parliament writes ” Mahathir kicked Anwar out of UMNO, yes, but who will now kick UMNO out of Anwar?”

On 5th November, last year, Malaysiakini carried the following report :

“Nahalan, a prominent leader in the east coast, took some time to explain his position at length on why he supports any proposed new party to be headed by Jeffrey.

“I received a call from Anwar Ibrahim last week asking me why I supported Jeffrey to be PKR state chief and not Thamrin,” disclosed Nahalan who is a Bajau-Suluk.

“I told him that Jeffrey was elected by the majority of division chiefs including my division. Besides, he’s the best leader we have in the opposition. It’s not true that he’s crazy about posts or likes to switch from party to party for no reason.”

Implied, but not stated specifically by Anwar during the hour-long telephone conversation, was that Nahalan should seriously think about supporting Thamrin on the basis of their common faith.

Apparently, Anwar was busy working the phones last week trying to persuade other Muslim division chiefs as well, including KadazanDusunMurut, to withdraw their support for Jeffrey to be the new state chief.

Muslim KadazanDusunMuruts come from the Orang Sungei along the Kinabatangan, Bisaya in the west coast and Ranau Dusun tribes in the high country.

Anwar’s willingness to ride roughshod over local sentiments in Sabah was the last straw for Nahalan. He said he realised that “Anwar has not changed since his Umno and Abim (Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia) days and is very much a closet racist” .

10 days later, at a ‘meet the bloggers’ session hosted by Anwar at the Lake Club, I broached Anwar on this.

He assured me that there was no truth in this and that Nahalan had in fact sms’d Anwar to say that the Malaysiakini report was completely untrue.

Anwar, of course, was not to know that I had already been told by someone who was at the meeting on 6th November, 2009, in Kota Kinabalu, where Tian Chua met several of the PKR state leaders, including Nahalan, that the latter had reiterated the very same allegation to Tian Chua.

I thought then that I would let this pass.

What’s a little face-saving white lie from a politician?

To be expected, no?

I was in Kota Kinabalu end of last month for the ’1963 Re-visited : The Way Forward’ forum organised by the Borneo Heritage Foundation together with the Common Interest Group Malaysia.

This was an important forum and I will blog about it soon.

I’ll just tell you now that what I learnt at the forum was that just as BN screwed us Semenanjungites big time, they did the same to Sabahans and Sarawakians.

Big, big time.

After the forum, I sat down to coffee with two PKR leaders from Sarawak.

The discussion, while wide-ranging, finally turned to Anwar and PKR.

“PKR, under Anwar, is UMNO by another name”, one of them said.

“Go and ask Anwar if he will deny that his plan is to keep the Dayaks divided so that the Muslims will continue to rule in Sarawak. How different, then, is PKR from UMNO? If he dares deny this, come back to me and I will give you proof”, the other offered.

I referred to what Nahalan had said last November and asked them what they thought.

“Anwar is more dangerous than that Perkasa fellow. That Perkasa fellow is openly a bloody racist. Anwar hides behind ketuanan rakyat. He is still on a Muslim agenda. Anwar is more dangerous”, one responded.

The Solicitors’ International Human Rights Group (SIHRG) takes the opportunity to write an open letter to you following your recent visit to the United Kingdom and comments made on 8 August regarding the Malaysian Internal Security Act 1960 (ISA) to members of the UK and Malaysian civil society outside the Malaysian High Commission at Belgrave Square.

SIHRG welcomes and applauds your attempts to engage with civil society on 8th August and address the difficult issues raised by Malaysia’s continued use of the draconian ISA in light of the recent disturbing clampdown in Malaysia of numerous planned peaceful protests and mass arrest of anti-ISA protestors. Such conduct by the Malaysian authorities has had a chilling effect on civil society and has brought to sharp focus how laws such as the ISA, if not repealed, will continue to cast a blight on Malaysia’s image in the eyes of the international community, undermine the country’s professed commitment to the rule of law and democratic values.

The Malaysian Government has accepted in recent times that all is not well with the ISA and the country’s other preventive laws. This recognition of a need for change has instigated yet another review of these legislations. SIHRG recognises that this is a step forward. However, provisions of the ISA have a wholly corrosive effect on fundamental liberties, and are inconsistent with Malaysia’s commitment to uphold the rule of law and abide by international norms. For these reasons SIHRG is of the view that there is an overwhelming need for Malaysia to show a strong irrevocable commitment to democratic values by repealing the ISA in its entirety.

Malaysian preventive laws, the most notorious being the ISA, allow for arbitrary detention of individuals at the will of the authorities, sometimes for prolonged periods, without trial or charges ever being proffered against them. These laws deny the detainee the right to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal and severely restrict a detainee’s right to access legal counsel. Individuals detained under the ISA and other preventive laws are deprived from any of the ordinary safeguards found under the country’s regular penal procedures. The systematic and pervasive use of preventive laws engenders a climate of fear among the public and undermines public confidence in the justice system.

You reiterated the Malaysian Government’s stand that it has ruled out repealing the ISA because the state is obliged to guarantee national security and the security of its citizens and the ISA is an important weapon in the state armoury to effectively combat terrorism.

SIHRG considers that there are compelling reasons for the Malaysian Government to reconsider its stand.

1. Indefinite incarceration of detainees has not been proven to be an effective method of preventing, reducing and/or alleviating terrorist attacks or terrorist related violence. In fact it is likely to be counterproductive (as has been the UK’s past experience). Malaysia, like many other countries, can develop a legal response to terrorism which allows it to protect the collective security of its people whilst giving effect to the rule of law and maintain core democratic values. The balance is important, not least to lend legitimacy to the legal measures adopted by allowing appropriate judicial and parliamentary scrutiny of executive decisions.

2. During its recent visit to Malaysian detention centres in June this year, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found evidence of a link between arbitrary detention and torture and ill-treatment. The detainee and prisoner interviews conducted by the Working Group observed that those detained under preventive laws were more vulnerable to state abuse as they are more likely to be tortured and/or ill-treated, in order to obtain confessions or evidence (facilitated by the fact that many are held initially in incommunicado detention), they are not informed of their right to contact relatives or to consult a lawyer (with some detainees interviewed stating that they were positively discouraged from consulting a lawyer).

3. There have been many instances reported in the media of lawyers either unable to access their clients detained under the ISA or face difficulties in getting such access. Lawyers perform a public role to ensure there is high public confidence in the proper functioning of the country’s justice system. In recognition of this important public role, Malaysia and other States unanimously adopted the UN’s Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers in September 1990 at the Eighth United Nations Congress in the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders[1].

4. The exceptionally wide powers available to the state under the ISA and other preventive laws are disproportionate to the perceived threat to national security and inappropriate to the nature of terrorism related crimes. Malaysia has already enacted specific legislations to deal with crimes related to terrorism. A strong state response to terrorism need not include the state’s routine use of extraordinary measures normally reserved for times of emergency.

5. Arbitrary detention without any prospect of trial or charge and the lack of a remedy to effectively challenge the legality of the detention is an unacceptable infringement of personal security and freedom and the presumption of innocence, a fundamental principal of modern criminal law and Malaysian penal law.

SIHRG is committed to promoting and monitoring human rights around the world. It counts the right of individuals to be given reasons for their detention and to be afforded the opportunity to challenge the legality of the deprivation of personal freedom before an independent and impartial tribunal as a basic civil right and a cornerstone of the rule of law. SIRHG abhors torture in all its forms and supports any positive measures adopted by states to eliminate and/or prevent any form of illegitimate violence perpetrated against its citizens.

Malaysia has repeatedly expressed to the international community that it does not condone torture. In your recent visit to the UK you too agreed that “the use of torture is completely unacceptable”. SIHRG considers that these are strong value statements that must and must be seen to be reflected in good governance. The ISA is an outdated colonial era relic which neither resonates with the Malaysian people nor the progressive forward looking attitude of the state.

SIHRG therefore strongly urges the Malaysian Government to take this timely opportunity to close the chapter on the country’s unhappy history with the Internal Security Act by repealing the Act in its entirety.

Yours sincerely

Lionel Blackman

Chairman

[1]“Governments shall ensure that lawyers (a) are able to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference; (b) are able to travel and to consult with their clients freely both within their own country and abroad; and (c) shall not suffer, or be threatened with, persecution or administrative, economic or other sanctions for any action taken in accordance with recognised professional duties, standards and ethics.” – Rule 16 of the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.

I could use some good news for a change, and seeing this article overwhelmed me with a rush of emotion. Dr Jeffrey was quoted in a piece as saying he’s “now being viewed with another eye by Malaysians” but I don’t know what he thinks the public think of him , but I know he remains fairly controversial in Malaysia. To me, he is still one of Malaysia’s bravest men and makes all other leaders look like lightweights. When Mahathir knocked him down with the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA) it really broke many hearts – not because Jeffrey ‘failed Sabahans’, which is what I fear he might have thought, but because such a brave good man could be put in a position of crippling self-doubt by a KL-centric “Ketuanan Melayu” despot.

It was then.

When I have to face challenging situations or I feel a little troubled or insecure, Dr. Jeffrey immediately comes up in my mind. He set the standard for me. I remember his words and his example: “Do not let a situation intimidate you. You have been prepared to meet any challenge.” Yes this is Jeffrey to me.

I call him “Doc Jef” and I have known him for a long time. The last time I saw him in “Sokid Villa” I spent 2 hours with him and he impressed me about this pan-Borneo grouping he is spearheading and his links with the indigenous folks in Sarawak and Kalimantan. I have to nail my colours to the mast with this one: Jeffrey will always have my respect, and I say that as a person who is not easily impressed by public figures. He has my respect not because he educated me about Mystical Borneo, about the 1963 Malaysia Agreement, about Sabah or about North Borneo or even Sarawak or Kalimantan or even Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, but because he’s an ordinary flawed humble Malaysian just like all of us. But unlike the majority of us, he has the guts to do the right thing and stand for the indigenous people of Borneo who are oppressed and have nothing. He reminds me of that Tianamen Square image – the one of a slight defiant figure in front of a phenomenal crushing tank of injustice. His bravery and humility in the face of the Federal Government machine of viciousness has never failed to inspire and impress me, and I think his ideas in this pan Borneo grouping are among the bravest I’ve ever heard him utter so far. What is 20 Points compared with this? Here he is challenging not just Kuala Lumpur, but standing up to Indonesia as well. As far as I am concerned these are the words and actions of a man doing work at the highest level. I hear his voice in the struggle, and am so glad to hear he’s back in action.

KOTA KINABALU: A new pan-Borneo grouping called Borneo Dayak Forum or BDF is set to take centrestage on all issues involving the unified native Dayak community in Borneo, the third largest island in the world.

Its inaugural president Jeffrey Kittingan from Sabah said BDF was born out of a realization of the necessity for all the indigenous people of Borneo to reach and relate, share and work together for their common interest.

“This realization started in Sabah a year ago, moved down to Sarawak then finally to Kalimantan Barat.

“It is only the beginning of this formality. Much work has already been done to bring us together as one people…. Next year we have plans to visit the United States and the United Nation to study indigenous communities’ progress,” said Kitingan a Kadazandusun, who is also a PKR vice president.

Launched last Sunday, BDF is believed to be the first pan-Borneo socio-cultural body. It identifies with most of the natives in Borneo, including the Kadazans, Dusuns, and Muruts in Sabah as within the Dayak grouping.

Efforts are being made to register BDF abroad, possibly in Geneva, Switzerland, to secure its role on the global stage and manage it carefully into the future.

“Weeks ago I had the privilege of visiting our Dayak brothers in Pontianak and Sanggau together with Daniel Tajem and others from Sabah and Sarawak to celebrate the Gawai Festival.

“We were received with honour and friendship. We enjoyed their hospitality and discovered that we share many things in common, the friendliness, the ‘tuak’, the singing and dancing…” said Kitingan.

Among those present at the soft-launching on Sunday were senior leaders of Sarawak Dayak National Union (SDNU), led by its president Mengga Mikui and deputy president John Bryan Anthony; chairman of Dewan Adat Dayak Kalimantan Barat, Bapak Thadeus Yus; and president of Sarawak Dayak Graduates Association (SDGA), Dusit Jaul.

At the function, Kitingan, who is also vice-president of KDCA and heads several civil society bodies like CigMa and Borneo Heritage Foundation (BHF) here, also unveiled for the first time the BDF logo that is a “Bunga Terung Dayak.

BDF senior leaders and delegates also had adopted a Dayak greeting or salaam ‘Adil katalino, basermin ka suruga, basengat kajubata’ which loosely translates as “be fair to all humankind, believe in heavens, God gave us lifeline”. The refrain to the greeting is: “harus, harus, harus,” which means “must, must, it is a must”.

About two-thirds of the roughly 17 million people living in Borneo, are Dayaks of various groups.

I picked up this letter written to Malaysia Today by a chap calling himself “SAS ( Saham Amanah Sabah) Victim.” This is interesting subject, perhaps to me, because I have many friends in KK who had invested a fair bit and lost their pants in this investment, after a steep fall of the SAS unit price during Yong Teck Lee’s time as Chief Minister. Till today many curse and swear Yong Teck Lee and Ambrose Lee whom they say is the “mastermind” behind the lost in their life-savings.

What happen was in 1998 there was a share swap deal between Warisan Harta Sabah Sdn Bhd of which Yong Teck Lee was Chairman and Suniwang Holdings Sdn Bhd of which Ambrose Lee was the Boss. The rational of entering into this transaction was that the Government through Warisan Harta could utilise a RM50 million fund. Yes Ringgit 50 juta. The RM50 million was to support counters in which Warisan Harta and Sabahans had investments.

As a result of the share swap deal Warisan Harta lost RM114 million. The RM114 million was lost after Warisan Harta under the chairmanship of Yong Teck Lee disposed its blue chip MISC shares in return for the acquisition of NBT shares and Sugar Bun shares. Both counters are delisted ever since. Both of these share counters NBT and Sugarbun were connected to Suniwang which was controlled by Ambrose Lee.

A whopping RM 114 million losses in this deal for the State.

So don’t you have to have somewhat of a criminal mind to be a politician? Most politicians are devious. They’ll sell “hope” to the public and they’ll make it seem very rosy and people don’t even know that their investment will be paid for out of their hard-earned savings. These politicians act like it’s fine. Politicians have no problem telling people something’s fine when it’s not. Politicians are worse than criminals because really when you think about it all a criminal does is just steal your money… what politicians do is to lie to people. They’ll lie to you… they’ll tell you what you want to hear… it’s a good deal…plenty of money to make…State Government investment, so must be good. People don’t know people like Ambrose Lee the CEO of Public Companies has got no money and cannot give personal guarantees for 200 million dollars to get this deal fix. It will surely fail because the motive is to milk the cow dry on the expanse of the people.

So I mean aren’t politicians similar to criminals? I know there are exceptions to the rule – like Yong Teck Lee? Don’t make me puke lah! Read below and make your opinion heard.

For more than a decade Sabahans have forgotten about Joseph Ambrose Lee Yok Min, 52, who once boasted of himself as the new Syed Kechik of Sabah, after he failed in his scandalous schemes to take over the RM30-billion timber wealth of Yayasan Sabah.

The late Syed Kechik was the de facto Chief Minister of Sabah when he was legal adviser to the late Tun Datu Mustapha bin Datu Harun who ruled the state with an iron-fist from 1967 to 1976.

Ambrose was back in Kota Kinabalu, having made his home in Perth, on August 7 at the Sutera Harbour Resort defending his bosom buddy Yong Teck Lee, who was Sabah Chief Minister from 1996 to 1998, over the fiasco of Saham Amanah Sabah (SAS) arising from a scandalous share-swap between Warisan Harta, the Sabah government’s investment arm, and Ambrose’s Suniwang Holdings Sdn Bhd.

More than 55,000 Sabahans, most of them pensioners and low-income civil servants, lost all their life-savings when the price of the state unit trust plummeted to 17 sen from its RM1.00 unit price soon after he sealed the deal when he became Chief Minister.

At the press conference, Ambrose (that’s what his few friends and many foes call him) made a feeble attempt to defend Yong over the missing RM50 million from the share-swap which Yong has been unable to explain to Sabahans.

Ambrose stressed that he paid RM50 million in cash through Innosabah Securities, the stockbroker, to Warisan Sabah in a deal that saw him exchanging his over-priced shares of NBT and Sugar Bun for Warisan’s blue chip MISC shares.

No one has disputed this. But what has not been answered is that the money received by Warisan was never given to SSB as Yong has said. Yong was the Chief Minister and Warisan Chairman. Yet he has failed to tell Sabahans what happened to the RM50 million which he, as Warisan Chairman, received and which he never gave to SSB.

Dr Yee Moh Chai, Minister of Resource Development and Information Technology, told the assembly on August 3 that Saham Sabah Berhad (SSB) which manages the SAS has confirmed to him that it has never received the RM50 million out of the share dealings of Warisan Harta.

At the assembly, Dr Yee pointed out that it was Yong who linked the disastrous share-swap of blue chip MISC shares belonging to Warisan with shares of NBT and Sugar Bun, which were cornered speculative stocks. The swap resulted in a loss of RM114 million to Warisan.

Yong had defended the share-swap. As Warisan’s chairman, he was on record to say that “the wider policy in entering into this transaction was that the Government through Warisan Harta could utilise the RM50 million fund.”

Yong said the RM50 million was to support counters (stocks) on the then Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE,now Bursa) in which Warisan and the people of Sabah had investments. The true outcome, according to Dr Yee, is that as a result of the share-swap deals, Warisan Harta lost RM114 million.

Ambrose blamed Warisan for the loss because it refused to accept his offer to pay RM96 million for the difference between its purchase and market price of NBT and Sugar Bun shares which he said fell sharply because of the Asian financial crisis.

What he failed, in Ambrose’s own words, to tell the “entire populace of Sabah” was that he did not have the cash to pay RM96 million. He suggested another share-swap! Thus Warisan sued Suniwang for RM179,825,000. True enough, Suniwang folded. Warisan did not get a sen. If Ambrose had the money, would his flagship Suniwang Holdings Sdn Bhd collapse like a pack of cards?

Ambrose blamed Musa Aman, who was then Finance Minister, for rejecting again his proposal in 2007 to settle his debt of RM179,825,000 by transferring shares of Borneo Marble Corporation Sdn Bhd which he owned through proxies.

He said Warisan had entertained his proposal but the Sabah government rejected it. Warisan officials said it was true that they entertained his proposal but it did not accept it because the company was a liability.

Recently filings with the Companies Commission of Malaysia have proved this to be so. Borneo Marble was formerly known as Galmore Resources Sdn Bhd and was a fully-owned subsidiary of Suniwang Sdn Bhd which was owned by J Ambrose Sdn Bhd.

As at the end of December 2006, Borneo Marble suffered a pre-tax loss of RM108,793. There are no records of its financial filings from 2007 to 2009.

Ambrose boasted that his NBT owned 200,000 acres of timber land under Forest Management Unit which was bought by someone else.

Officials said what he failed to say was that NBT was in debt to the tune that the company was worthless and the timber land was pledged to a bank as collateral. The property was sold by the bank to recover its loan to NBT.

Ambrose had banked on the Sabah government to bail him out which it had rightly refused.

By his own admission, he has a Receiving Order of the court placed on his assets under the control of an official assignee. He has not been adjudicated a bankrupt yet.

Any chance of the Sabah government bailing him out now hinges on the remote chance of Yong Teck Lee becoming Sabah’s Chief Minister again. And why shouldn’t he? After all it was Yong’s late father, Yong Yun, who financed Ambrose’s law studies in London.

Like this:

When putting his thoughts on the question of : To Be Or Not Be A Racist, Mahathir says hypocrisy is very much alive in Malaysian politics.

For me Mahathir should have quit when he was way behind. But he crapped in his own mess kit “Ketuanan Melayu” for 21 years. Don’t know what Singapore did to him during days in Raffles?

It’s just the way it is.

My Malay friends understand this, and it’s ok by me. I don’t have an iota of guilt about anything, and I’m Malaysian and been around here by nearly 150 years. I get along fine with the Malays I do know. Honorable men all. But we all understand it’s not the same.

So Mahathir can continue with his Ketuanan flight (invented by Mahathir himself) and we’ll just continue getting along with our Malay neighbors as we have for 150 years.

In the end though, Mahathir is a racist. Even if you won’t admit it, he will. But I’m ok with that too as long as he is. Unlike most racist, at least we know where he and I stand.

LONG LIVE PERKASA!

Read below Dr Mahathir’s full text and be your own judge if he is racist or not.

1. Recently I had occasion to talk to a group of former state and federal members of the Barisan Nasional.

2. I had extolled on the virtues of the BN coalition type of Government and the achievements under the BN Government at State and Federal levels.

3. Then came question time. Very sensible questions were posed by these ex-YB’s and I managed to answer them reasonably well.

4. Then an ex-MP or State Councillor rose and pointed out that under the Opposition Government he sees more Chinese holding high posts in the Government. The component parties also seem to be working much closer with each other. As an example, PAS women members not only attended the funeral of a Chinese but also helped to fold the paper money usually scattered at Chinese funerals.

5. Why is it that the BN did not give more posts to the Chinese and appoint Chinese Deputy PM and assistants to the state MB’s? Why is Umno less tolerant of Chinese religious ceremonies?

6. I was startled by this criticism of the BN by an ex-member of the State or Federal BN Government. Do I answer truthfully or do I skip and gloss over things in order not to sound racist? But then in asking the question, isn’t the questioner being racist?

7. After the forum I debated with myself and finally decided that I must give the true reason for the fewer positions given to the Chinese in the BN Governments, and Umno appears to be less accommodating of Chinese religious practices.

8. The NEP has been on now for almost 40 years, far longer than originally planned. Admittedly the Malays had been at fault because they did not make correct use of the opportunities created for them in the NEP. But whatever the reason, the Malays have not gained for themselves the 30% target in corporate ownership even. But more than that if a proper audit is made their wealth is even less than 30% of total wealth of the people of Malaysia. Most of the wealth of the country belongs to the Chinese. It can also be said that the Chinese control the economy of the country.

9. In the political field the Malays appear to be in control. Most of the high posts i.e. PM, MB etc are held by the Malays. If these posts are held by the Chinese, then not only will the economy be under Chinese control but the political arena would also be under the Chinese. What will be the Malay stake in the country?

10. The NEP is about giving the Malays a fair stake in the economy of the country. Should they get this then they should be ready to relinquish a commensurate amount of control in the political field. Since they have not gained a fair share in the economy, then they should be allowed to retain this greater share in politics. If PAS appears to be more accommodating of Chinese religious practices, it is simply because it wants Chinese votes. Remember at one time PAS condemned Umno for having MCA as a partner. Now PAS is willing to accept DAP as a partner. It is political hypocrisy, not sincere partnership.

11. I am talking about racial issues simply because my questioner raised racial issues. It is said that the poor showing of the BN in 2008 was because the people of Malaysia were sick of racial parties and racial politics. I doubt it. Since 2008 there have been more talks about race than previously. And my questioner has illustrated this amply. Race is still very clearly an issue in Malaysian politics.

12. If PAS is extremely supportive of the Chinese today, it is not because the party has become disaffected with race and religion. It is simply because it wants to play up Chinese racial sentiments in order to win Chinese votes.

Over the past two weeks, the DAP’s National Publicity Secretary, Tony Pua has been harshly criticised by Umno leaders for the suggestion to remove bumiputera discount for the purchase of luxury homes and instead use the discount to fund schemes for the poor.

I am most appalled by the recent actions by Umno Youth to file a report against him claiming that his suggestion was seditious, in breach the Federal Constitution and the social contract. Other Umno leaders including the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak himself has warned Pua against causing dissatisfaction and anger against Malays, and becoming a threat to public peace.

It is clear that these so-called Umno leaders have little or zero understanding of the Federal Constitution for try as I might, I could not find a clause or article in the Constitution which suggests that Malays or bumiputeras are given the right to discount for property purchases. There’s certainly nothing enshrined in the Constitution which says that Malays are entitled to discounts for luxury properties costing millions of ringgit.

The ’special position’ of the Malays also does not extend by definition to such discounts or privileges, or one could then make the incredulous argument that as a result of the ’special position’, Malays will even be entitled to constitutional discounts for purchasing BMWs, Porches, home theatre systems, first class air tickets or even jewellery and precious stones.

The discount for the purchase of luxury properties is one of the clear cut abuses of the New Economic Policy which needs reform to ensure that it is the bottom 40% of income earners who receive the benefit from affirmative action. As such I complete support the suggestion by the Selangor Menteri Besar to consider abolishing the discount applied to luxury homes but to use the ‘discount’ to set up a housing fund to help poor bumiputeras.

Umno and its Youth wing’s ignorance and abuse of the constitutional provisions is obviously meant to protect the rich and wealthy Umnoputras who wants to continue to enjoy such discounts when purchasing their luxury homes.

Umno’s reactions also clearly demonstrate that they have no sense of pride and self-worth, for seeking to protect such entrenched and distortionary benefits at the expense of the poor and less fortunate. Malays as a race should be proud that there are those who are now able to afford such properties, and we should be pround to be standing on our own two feet with handicaps.

The Umno leaders who have criticisms based on bumiputera rights such as the Prime Minister, Umno Information Chief, Datuk Ahmad Maslan, and the Umno Youth leaders should be completely ashamed of themselves.

Like this:

The 21-year-old Sabahan, Yong Vui Kong, sentenced to death by Singapore’s High Court for trafficking 47 grammes of heroin had his Singapore lawyer Ravi taking his own initiative to visit Sandakan to meet up with Yong’s mother. So nice of Ravi and all the Singaporeans who came along with him for the visit.

Who said Singaporeans are like machine and heartless? I have my cousins from my mothers side who are Singaporeans and they are beautiful people and so is Ravi and all other Singaporeans who have taken special interest in Yong. Before I forget, need to give a word of thanks to Rachel Zeng the activist from Singapore, who is so passionate about dignity of human life and has taken so much interest in Yong’s predicament and she has put a lot of us to shame for not doing enough for our fellow humans. I too like Rachel believe that the death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights and it is the premeditated and cold-blooded killing of a human being by the state and its cruel, inhuman and this degrading punishment is done in the name of justice, it violates the right to life.

See below Ravi’s meeting with Yong’s mother in Sandakan.

We visit on our third day in Sandakan. She looks surprised to see so many of us. But we’re even more taken aback by the state of her little two-bedroom flat. Vui Fung had told us earlier that she lives alone. We’d half-expected her home to be gloomy and untidy. But the place is immaculately kept. Clean, and bright and airy. There are photos of her children and grandchildren everywhere. A large, framed family portrait takes pride of place in the living room.

We’re all nervous about meeting her. Terrified we’d somehow let slip what she must not be told – that Vui Kong, her youngest son, sits on death row. We’d all heard her heartbreaking story. We know of her mental illness, her struggles as an impoverished single mother, her visit last year to Changi Prison, to see Vui Kong just two days before he was originally scheduled to hang. He had told her he was going away to seek penance for his sins and that he would never ever return.

That narrative had confused me back then. Did she really buy the story? Surely, a mother must know?

Meeting her now, I finally understand why Vui Kong felt he had to protect his mother from the truth. It is impossible to have a conversation with her. She hardly says a word. Doesn’t acknowledge anyone’s questions. It is as if she’s living in her own little bubble, a bubble you dare not burst. Vui Fung blames it on anti-depressants.

“They make her sleepy and slow.”

But her older kids don’t want to wean her off the pills – they’re afraid she might sink back into depression and try to kill herself again.

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The previous day, we’d visited their old house, a two-storey building in the middle of an oil palm plantation. No one lives there now. It’s where the family keeps their unwanted junk.

Inside a room full of odds and ends, Ravi (Vui Kong’s lawyer) found an old cupboard full of children’s things. Her children’s things. Vui Kong’s mother had carefully preserved his old textbooks. Primary 1 to Primary 4. He’d dropped out of school after that, to find work in the city.

We found Yun Leong’s report card. He was an excellent student. If only he had kept on studying. We found an old school t-shirt and tiny shorts. All meticulously packed away.